The Final Countdown

    Okay guys, it is now exactly one week until we present our projects, and I am kind of freaking out. Phantom is this weekend, so I won't have a lot of time to work on it. I will have to put my full efforts into every class period in order to get my poster board done.
    On the other hand, I did complete my speech, and feel pretty good about it. I will also have to memorize that, adding to the long list of things I will need to get ready for next Friday.
    I'm kind of sad that this project is coming to an end, because even though it had it's rough moments, it was really fun.
  
Nervous but excited,
 
Maggie
 

New Bumps in the Road to Discovery

       Netflixing is a very enjoyable experience, however, when people start streaming videos on school laptops, it weighs on the bandwidth and causes it to crash.
       Recently, our school has tried to crackdown on such abuse to school property, but they blocked many of the sites students use to work on 20% time in the process. We were able to get some back, but most are still blocked.
      This is just another bump in the road, and I'm sure we will be able to work past it and figure out how to do 20% time without these sites.
       On another note, I figured out how to insert graphics into my article through paint (something they didn't block) and I also started my third article.
       Mrs. Browning has set our presentation for May eighth so that will be interesting. My goal is to have 5 articles by that time, so wish me luck!
      

One down, many more to go...

        Whoop whoop! I finally finished that article guys!!! I am facing a bit of difficulty with the formatting, however, I did figure out how to put it in columns, so that is a plus.
         I also found the "insert cover" button and I am loving the results. At first, I was going to go with a simple header, but it turns out that headers show up on every page, so that wasn't going to work. But with an actual cover page, my article is looking very professional. I am also considering inserting a picture on my cover page. Everything is coming together nicely.
        I have decided to do my next article on free speech, focusing on the Charlie Hebdo shootings. This is an excellent example of why we need to keep speech free.
        See you next week guys!
                    ~Maggie

 I didn't get a lot done today due to two unforeseen obstacles: firstly, Microsoft Word was not cooperating  with me today. Secondly; Anabella was having difficulties with a character's name and I helped her out with that. I'll try to actually get something done this weekend. Until then, good bye guys!

Finally Making Progress

          Today I finally started working on that article I was talking about. I have made a pretty decent start, but there is still a lot left for me to do before I  can finish it out.
           I am wondering how I will post the final edition on this blog. I am thinking of gathering a hard copy of all of my articles for a little mini-mag at the end of this project, but I am concerned about just straight-up uploading it to this blog. I want it to look professional but I don't know how! maybe I can figure out how to link it to here or something. Definitely still a work in progress.
           I asked Anabella if she wanted  to partner review our works, since we are both working on writing, even though hers is fictional novella. I've read some of her novel, and she read the beginning of my article. She says it's looking good, so that's progress, right?
           Something else I have been worrying about: what to call this. It is not exactly a news article. It's not really an opinion column either. So what should I call it? I am open for suggestions!
           I feel much better about this project now that I've started my article and hopefully I am over that little case of writer's block. (can I even call it that? maybe it should be called journalist's procrastination) That's all right, now guys, will be posting next week.

           I have decided to write my first article on the negative effects of stereotyping, using the Ferguson dilemma as an example. This event has effected the entire country in a big way, opening our eyes to new problems along the way as the whole nation holds their breath, waiting to see what will pop up next as a result of the Ferguson shooting. this is an excellent example of stereotyping, each side standing by their unfounded opinions of the other. I'm hoping to get this finished over the weekend and posted by Monday.

Project Proposal

20% Time Project Proposal

 

Name: Maggie Tennant

Project Title: Genius hour

Project Start Date: November 7, 2014

Project Completion Date: May 15, 2015

Mentor’s Name: Dayna Browning

Brief Description: A continuous online discussion of current events and life’s unanswered questions

 

Overview of Project Proposal

 

7)      Project Objective:

            For 20% of my time in Mrs. Browning’s class I will be researching and writing a blog to answer a life question. I will post my thoughts and opinions on my blog at least once a week. I will research the current events and then post a monthly  article that follows this event and helps answer the question.

 

2) Project Rationale:

            I am doing this project because I enjoy doing this. This year, I signed up to take a journalism class, and it’s not delivering the same thing I asked for. I do like putting on the school news, but it is lacking the reporting aspect. This project will help me satisfy that feeling, and improve my writing and world views at the same time.

 

3) Project Steps:

- identify mentors

- set publishing goals

- ask life question

-research event

-publish article monthly

-answer question!

-present ted talk

- present project

 

4) Timeline of Activities:

November 2014: find mentor, set publishing goal, ask question, find event, research

December 2014: write article, think about question, research

January 2015: research, article

February 2015: research, article

March 2015: RESEARCH, ARTICLE

April 2015: RESEARCH, ARTICLE

May 2015: RESEARCH, ARTICLE

 

5) Available Human and Material Resources:

·         NPR

·         Time magazine

·         Huffingtonpost.com

·         Nytimes.com

 

6) Possible Road Blocks:

·         Losing interest in the project

·         procrastination

7) Research Questions:

·         Are all the hours and resources spent on saving and improving lives worth it if human’s just hack the system anyways?

·         How much is a human life worth?